Month: November 2015

1. A first for 2015 is the Virgin Money Street of Light on the Royal Mile. Between the 30th of November and Christmas Eve there will be a twice nightly shows where the lights will synchronize to the music of Edinburgh’s choirs. This is a free event but you need to book your tickets in advance here https://www.virginmoneystreetoflight.com/

5. Foodies Christmas Festival brings Scotland’s top chefs and award-winning producers to Edinburgh for a fabulous festive feast. The show takes places between 13th and 15th November at the EICC http://www.foodiesfestival.com/xmas-edinburgh/

7. Catch a drive-in Christmas movie between 19th and 23rd December on the World’s biggest LED screen at the Royal Highland Centre. From Elf to Love Actually, there’s a Christmas favourite for everyone. It’s £26 per car and you can bring your own food. Visit https://christmasmovies.co.uk/ for full listings.

8. The Scottish Market in St Andrews Square will be showcasing the best of food and drink including local gin and craft beer.

12. Do something fun for charity and burn off a few of those mince pies – The Christmas Charity Festival takes place over the 5th and 6th of December in Inverleith Park http://www.christmascharityfestival.com/

Wishing you a very festive time in Edinburgh from Girl Versus Food xTweet

From cheese to craft gin, there’s samples galore so it’s the perfect opportunity to try something new. Lots of the stands have special show prices and offers so you can pick up a bargain.

Get inspired watching demonstrations from celebrity chefs like Tom Kitchin and James Martin in the Supertheatre. Great British Bake Off fans, you can see Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood IN THE FLESH! But no touching. You have been warned.

And while we’re on the subject, did you know there’s a whole area of the show dedicated to all things baking? See demonstrations and source all sorts of specialist ingredients and equipment in the Cake & Bake Village.

Make a start on your Christmas shopping. How about a book signed by Michel Roux Jr? The WHSmith stand has a programme of book signings over the weekend.

Shopping weighing you down? There’s a Shop & Drop area supported by Guide Dogs where you can leave your shopping and enjoy the show hands-free.

Fancy yourself as a bit of a mixologist? Why not take part in a 30 minute cocktail masterclass? #letscocktail

The Show Guide has a floor plan which is great for making sure you don’t miss any gems! It also has lots of gorgeous recipes to take home and try out.

Always wondered how to get that soufflé to rise? Now’s your chance to ask the experts on the Interview Stage. Amongst those taking questions is Andrew Fairlie; the only chef in Scotland to hold two Michelin stars at his restaurant at Gleneagles.

Some of Glasgow’s best restaurants are coming to the show this year in pop-up format; The Gannet, Porter & Rye and Red Onion will all be making an appearance. This is a brilliant opportunity to try their signature dishes in taster size.

Does the periodic table might bring back some school memories for you? Arranging the chemical elements based on their atomic numbers reflects over a century of research. I bet those scientist could have done with a stiff martini after using all that brainpower!

So in this post I wanted to tell you about the slightly geeky but uber-cute cocktail book ‘The Periodic Table of Cocktails’. From Mojitos to Moscow Mules, there are 106 cocktails which you can navigate by spirit, style or flavour. There’s loads of fun anecdotes and historical titbits in the book; I particularly enjoyed learning that a “Scofflaw” was someone in Prohibition USA who ignored the drinking ban. I’m not a particularly rebellious person but I feel there’s a good chance I would have been a Scofflaw!

I’ve picked a more modern cocktail from the ‘The Periodic Table of Cocktails’ to feature in this post. ‘The Penicillin’ was created in New York in 2005. With the ginger, citrus and whisky, this reminds me of a hot toddy and I’m pretty sure a few Penicillins would have a similar effect on your well-being.

Ingredients

60ml single malt or blended Scotch whisky

10ml Islay whisky

30ml lemon juice

30ml honey-ginger syrup (to make this put 100ml of honey, 100ml of water and 25 – 30g of sliced fresh root ginger in a pan. Bring to the boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Allow to cool and strain to remove the pieces of ginger)

Method

Add all the ingredients to a cocktail shaker. Shake hard over ice and strain into a rocks glass, preferably with one large ice cube or ice ball. Garnish will candied ginger if you can get your hands on some.

The book has been written by Emma Stokes a.k.a. Gin Monkey who, as well as having a Pharmacology degree, is also an expert on all things cocktail. With an R.R.P. of £9.99, it would make a great stocking filler.

Good news! I also have three copies to give away. To enter, simply sign up to my Girl Versus Food newsletter here. Winners will be drawn on Sunday 22nd November 2015.